on's oldest black churches that has left nine people dead in charleston, south carolina. police at this hour have now identified the gunman as 21-year-old dylann storm roof. they believe he is from the lexington area. public records show he's been arrested at least twice this year. he's believed to be driving a black hyundai with the license plate number lgf330. authorities previously released these surveillance images of the suspect entering the emanuel ame church. they say he attended a prayer meeting inside that historic church where he sat and waited for nearly one hour before opening fire. that happening around 9:00 p.m. local time last night. according to the local naacp chapter, a female survivor said the gunman told her he was letting her go so she could tell everyone what happened. charleston's police chief says there is no doubt this is a hate crime.

>> this is a situation that is unacceptable in any society and especially in our society, in our city. it's critical that the members of the community who have seen the picture of the vehicle as well as the suspect, to call law enforcement. this is a very dangerous individual. he should not be approached by anyone. we are not leaving any stone unturned. this tragedy that we're addressing right now is undescribable. no one in this community will ever forget this night. >> a reward is being offered for his capture. police have not released the names of all of the victims but we do know they include three men and six women. also among the victims was the

church's pastor reverend clementa pinckney. this morning, a black cloth drapes his seat in the senate chamber, a relative of the pastor gave this chilling account of what happened inside the church. >> the suspect came to the church and he asked for the pastor, where is the pastor? they showed him where the pastor was. he sat next to my cousin reverend clementa pinckney throughout the entire bible study. i spoke with one of the survivors and she said that he had reloaded five different times. and her son was trying to talk him out of doing that -- killing people. and he just said, i have to do it. he said you rape our women and you've taken over our country.

and you have to go. >> police say only three people survived the massacre. msnbc's benjy sarlin is in charleston. he joins me now. you and many other political reporters were there covering a hillary clinton event when this news broke. you're gathering details. within the last few hours, this investigation has moved rapidly due to that surveillance video and now we have the identity of this individual but he is still at large. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. everything changed since about five hours ago when the police first released that video with still images of the suspect and started asking people en masse to give any information they could if they saw those people. that's when this manhunt in earn est est. we still don't know if there's a lead to his location, if

authorities have any lead to where he might go or how to get catch him. so this is another story here. it's yet to be seen whether this is the break in the case that everyone here is hoping it is. >> we know this will at least lead to perhaps his family and maybe they will be able to -- if he has immediate family available to give authorities more answers as well as this manhunt continues. they believe he lives in the lexington or was at some point living in the lexington area. with that said back at the church scene hearing the pastor's cousin detail what happened inside that church benjy, would make anyone stop in their tracks and wonder how something so despicable could happen. what else are you hearing regarding that one-hour length of time that this suspect, according to authorities, sat there and waited to take those lives? >> reporter: one thing that people were asking around here was, was it unusual for someone like this character or someone

in a sweatshirt in 98-degree weather, a white man in an historically black church to sit there and would it raise alarms? one pastor told me this was totally normal. they welcome visitors. nothing about this would have set off alarm bells. but so chilling that someone would sit there, absorb this message of faith, of bible study and just kill people set off on a massacre driven by pure hatred of the most disgusting kind. it's difficult for people to comprehend. a lot of people here are asking why. the same pastor i spoke to -- this is a very grim thought but i think other people are having it, too -- expressed this hope that this person is apprehended alive and not kill himself. these people want closure. they want to hear for themselves why something like this would happen. so i think especially now with

the identity of this person revealed some of those pieces are going to start coming into place as people talk to his family and god willing secure him soon. >> the naacp released a statement in part saying there is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of god and slaugters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture. joining me now is cornell williams brooks also an ame minister who grew up near charleston. thank you for joining us. let's start with the church itself. if you can describe to people who a typical night -- a wednesday night would be like at a church like emanuel ame and why so many people would be gathered there. >> sure. on wednesday evening, this is an occasion for bible study. and in the context of the bible study, the pastor teaches, encourages people to participate in a discussion of scripture. if there are people there who are familiar and friends,

they're made welcome. but if there are people who are strange, who are unfamiliar, who are new to the church, they would be welcomed. it is quite likely that this young man was given a bible, was encouraged to participate in scripture. and so the idea that someone who is a stranger treated as a brother would then turn around and kill his brothers and sisters, nine of them is unconscionable unconscionable. this is a flesh-and-blood obscenity. it is absolutely morally unimaginable. so on a wednesday night it would not be unusual in a church like emanuel with a history that emanuel has to welcome anyone and everyone into a bible study. and i might also note that a bible study unlike sunday morning worship is not an occasion where you have ushers walking up and down the aisle. it is an informal moment a relaxed moment.

and as a consequence, perhaps a more vulnerable moment. but we want to extend our condolences and prayers on behalf of the naacp and certainly as an ame minister to the emanuel ame church family to the family of the pastor and to everyone in charleston and of course across the country. >> and we just received information via twitter from congressman todd rutherford, the democrat from south carolina that he just received a call from president obama, he's conveyed his condolences to senator pinckney's family, the community, the city of charleston. we are waiting to hear a statement from the white house as well as from loretta lynch whose ceremony was just yesterday with the president at her side. she has a prescheduled event with the fbi director. but we're expecting comments from her as well. in the meanwhile, looking at the history of violence against black churches and houses of worship for so many years, to wake up and many people didn't

realize this when they went to bed right before 9:00 this happened and you wake to the news that a house of worship, a black church attacked in this country and its members attacked, how do you explain this in this day and age when race remains such a complicated conversation but one that we believe we've evolved with. >> if you look into the face of america at this moment you will find a morally confused and morally befuddled look. it's hard to explain how something like this could happen. this being by all appearances a hate crime. and as a hate crime, the victims are not only those who have been slaughtered but the community and the country itself. it is hard for us to reconcile this kind of unconscionable act.

be clear, though this is a moment for our resolve, for our determination, i have no doubt that on sunday morning, there will be people who show up to church. they're not going to stop going to church as a consequence of this act of violence. there will be people who show up at bible studies and be clear, the naacp will certainly continue to do its work. we are encouraged by the justice department and their hate crime investigation. we are encouraged by the fact that they've reached out to let us know that they are going to be engaged actively in this investigation and bringing this person to justice. >> thank you so much for your time. we greatly appreciate it. authorities have identified the suspect that they are looking for right now as dylann storm roof. they believe that he is from the lexington area. if we could show his picture again. public records show he's been arrested at least twice this year. they've provided now a license plate number, a hyundai that he

was seen driving, lgf330. you see there, born april 3rd 1994. he attended school at white knoll high school. let's listen in to loretta lynch. >> i want to address the heartbreaking and deeply tragic events that occurred at the emanuel ame church that occurred in charleston south carolina last evening. this is a crime that's reached into the heart of that community. the department of justice has opened a hate crime investigation into the shooting incident. the fbi, atf, u.s. marshals service, civil rights division and the u.s. attorney's office are working closely with our state and local partners and we stand ready to offer every resource, every means and every tool that we possess in order to locate and to apprehend the perpetrator of this barbaric crime.

acts like this one have no place in our country and no place in a civilized society. and i want to be clear. the individual who committed these acts will be found and will face justice. as we move forward in this matter my thoughts and prayers and those of our entire law enforcement community here at the department of justice and around the country are with the families and loved ones of the victims in charleston. even as we struggle to comprehend this heartbreaking event, i want everyone in charleston and everyone who's been affected by this tragedy to know that we will do everything in our power to help heal this community and make it whole again. i encourage the people of charleston, south carolina and the wider area to continue circulating the photos of the alleged perpetrator and report any tip no matter how small, no matter how minor to the tip line which can be reached at 1-800-call-fbi. thank you.

and now today's announcement today i am joined by secretary -- >> brief comments there from the attorney general, loretta lynch. saying the department of justice has hoped a hate crimes investigation there. she's moved on now to the regularly scheduled program of why they are meeting. but police are calling what's happened in south carolina a hate crime. we do not know yet if the suspect still at large was part of a hate group or if he voiced hate speech in the past. south carolina is home to 19 known hate groups joining me now is heidi byrick a leading expert on extremism and hate groups. thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> what are the numbers regarding attacks against houses of worship that you've seen lately, directly linked to hate crimes? >> well we don't have exact numbers on that. but we do know that houses of

worship, especially black churches, have long been targets of violence. in 1998 a klan group was sued for the destruction of a church in south carolina. this is an ongoing problem. >> people will in some ways be surprised that the numbers have still -- to your point, not exact numbers but these incidents are still happening. for many they think of instantly 1963 the four little girls in birmingham and that it's something in our distant but very tragic past. but in fact, this is a reminder of how houses of worship, black churches included are still a target for these hate group. >>s that's right. it looks like the shooter in this case was wearing patches to indicate white supremacist support. as a result of that i wouldn't be surprised he was targeting a black church just like what happened at the 16th street church in rm be. these houses of worship,

historically black churches have been a prime target for people who are absolutely out of their minds racist about black folks and minorities in general. 50e9s really awful. >> we don't know if this suspect is linked to an organization, a hate group. but what strikes you or at least -- i'm curious about his age. 21-year-old. when we think of these groups you often think of someone who maybe has had a life of crime, ended up in prison and they join these groups in prison or they're older. he's a 21-year-old man, young man. is there a heavy recruitment going on with these hate groups to make sure that their terror can continue by bringing in fresh blood? >> look it's long been the case that for example the racist skinhead movement the nazi movement are attracting young men. if you look at the people on racist forums a lot of them are

in their 20s. we shouldn't be surprised at the youth of the shooter. the skinhead who shot up the sikh temple in 2012 was also relatively young. that's not actually surprising. skinheads tend to be in that younger age group. >> and the fact that he walked into this church alone, we don't know if others were tied to it who were not on the scene and who may or may not have assisted him here. but looking at just some of the behavior his criminal background as well is there anything that stands out to you about his actions? >> well the sad fact is that this country has seen a rash of lone wolf attacks by extremists either racist or anti-government, going on for quite a few years now. there's been a plot or attempted plot every five weeks in the united states. oftentimes these are lone figures who decide they're taking up a gun and destroying to enemy.

for white supremacists, that's black people, immigrants, gay people. this is not unique this kind of violence or attempted violence like this has been unfortunately all too regular as of late. >> heidi, we heard one witness, a cousin of the pastor who was killed there, pastor pinckney say this individual sat there in the church for an hour and then at some point reloaded multiple times and told them i have to do this. you're murdering and raping my people, we have to take back this country, that same incendiary and hateful language sadly that in some ways slips into event political dialogue these days. >> that exact term i need to take back my country, you're destroying us you're raping our women, that is the top type of discussion that's going on in white supremacist forums today, all about the fact that there's

tons of black and white crime. it's a false narrative. but white supremacists are pushing the idea that they're being genocided. if someone is heavily influenced by that idea that could certainly lead to violence like we've seen in charleston. >> hay di, thank you for your time. a nearby church will hold a prayer service for the community at noon. and joining me the presiding elder of the district of the ame church. reverend goff has known reverend pinckney for years now. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for having me and thank you praying for this community and those families who have been victimized from this hateful crime. >> sir, how have you explained it to yourself or for those who have come to you for comfort knowing how close you were to this pastor and to this community? >> well, this is the time where our faith is strengthened and that we encourage each other. and that because of our faith, we're able to one, seek justice and also to comfort those who

mourn at this hour this is the families and also this entire community if not the nation. >> reverend goff did you know of any threats directed at the church, at the pastor or the ame church itself? >> none at this time. but most certainly there's going to be an ongoing review of all items that have taken place recently. there's another scheduled press conference made this morning, early this afternoon. we're supposed to get additional information. >> do you know why the church had these surveillance cameras there? was there a concern for safety? >> well it's just a matter of security. mother emanuel is located in downtown charleston. it's a designated tourist place and most certainly is the mother church of the south. and it is a known part of the fabric of this community since its inception. we've been a part of the social movement in the state of south carolina and in the city of

charleston. and we continue to do that the current pastor, pastor pinckney. this is typical of what mother emanuel is all about. it's inclusive and diverse. we also speak up for those who are unable to speak up for themselves. >> we know that the church it is not the building it's a people who are in that church who give their lives to spreading the word of god as you've done. but to know that this individual -- if the reports are accurate, sat there for an hour and the congregation allowed him in the welcoming spirit that exists there ubnbeknownst to them that he was plotting to take lives. >> it's a reminder to all of us that evil is still in the world and we must overcome evil with expanding the good -- >> reverend, i'm so sorry, i have to interrupt you. law enforcement officials have told us that dylann storm roof has been caught. law enforcement officials have at this hour released

information that i am able to report that the suspect, dylann storm roof, has been caught. let me reverend, get your reaction. >> my reaction is we are very appreciative and i'm quite sure there's some relief in terms of bringing closure onto a suspect who was at loose for a number of hours throughout the night and most of the morning. this is the kind of news that we're able to report through the senior bishop at the church and our prayer vigil that will give information to this awaiting conversation at 12:00 noon. >> what i've been report this is according to wltx. we've been told that law enforcement sources tell that affiliate that the suspect was arrested in shelby, north carolina. this individual who's been the focus of a massive manhunt since

around 9:00 according to wltx law enforcement sources tell them this individual has been arrested in shelby, north carolina. reverend, i apologize for interrupting you there. obviously this is a significant development. and you have to think that were it not for the surveillance cameras at that church one could only wonder how far away this individual could have gotten not being identified. >> once again, it underlines the importance of having the security surveillance camera. and we must monitor activities in and around the church. i know law enforcement is holding an official press conference within the next few minutes and we hope to verify all that has been breaking news through your program which i'm appreciative of. >> to capture what this church means, not just to south carolina but to this country and

the history and legacy of those who built that church and kept it surviving for all these years, how important is this church to the american fabric? >> well it's very important. and once again, we highlight the fact that the history of this country cannot be told in full without the mother church which is mother emanuel. we have had the emancipation of our people and the major movement in this country even in the electing of the first african-american president. >> reverend thank you so much for your time. we greatly appreciate it. i do want to bring our audience back to our headquarters here at msnbc. 11:30 a.m. a few minutes from now, we're expecting an updated news conference from authorities there. we'll perhaps get more

information on this individual police have identified as 21-year-old dylann storm roof. they say he is the person who walked into that church emanuel ame last night around 9:00 and opened fire on individuals within that church. children were there. men and women gathered for their wednesday prayer service. according to what we've learned from witnesses, this young man sat in the church for at least an hour before he started shooting and there was even an opportunity for those inside to plead for their lives and to plead for him to stop. one witness says that this individual told them that he needed to take the country back and blamed african-americans for rapes and murders in this country. it is a lot to take in right now. but we also know that the president of the united states will also be making a statement here soon. we'll take a break and have more continuing coverage of the massacre at the south carolina

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open cap. welcome back. we continue to follow breaking news out of south carolina where we can confirm now that this suspect wanteded in the massacre at the south carolina church has been captured in shelby, north carolina. that would have been about a three-hour almost four-hour drive from the scene of the crime. msnbc's craig melvin is live in charleston. what do you have for us, craig? >> reporter: what we're hearing is what you just reported. 21-year-old -- i just lost her. >> i think we lost craig. we'll go back to craig and work on the audio right now -- but

what we have right now is that the individual dylann storm roof, is in custody. there were some discrepancies over his name. but it is confirmed as dylann storm roof. he is now in custody. the 21-year-old police say was responsible for the deaths of nine people eight of which died in the church. another individual was transported to a nearby hospital and died there. there are reports that a 5-year-old child was inside and pretended to be dead having the knowledge to know -- that would be the only way that she could survive. so we're waiting to get more information from authorities. i think we can go back to craig if we've worked out that audio. ayman mohyeldin i'm told is standing by. ayman, are you there? >> reporter: i am. >> we're looking at the map of where this individual started

this shooting spree, in the heart of charleston, south carolina. he then traveled to nearby shelby. and i say nearby about three hours and 48 minutes. when you think about the time line here, i think the rapid speed of this investigation -- we can all clearly see, hinged on this surveillance video which was released as soon as authorities were able to confirm that that was the person who went inside that church. >> reporter: that's correct. we are expecting a news conference any minute. but it gives you a sense of how quickly word spread among law enforcement officials in the south carolina and north carolina area that they were able to apprehend this individual nearly half a day after this incident has taken place. as you mentioned, the capture of the suspect took place in shelby, north carolina. and what we also know about him individually, this was based on information that was released by the police in accordance with the still pictures of that surveillance video. it showed the individual the 21-year-old, who was about 5'9"

white male they also released that very early on this morning, before any informational briefings, they released that image to get the media's help in trying to alert the public as well as anyone else who may be able to identify this individual. shortly after that, as his name became apparent to the media, so too, did other information about his background previous encounters with law enforcement as well as a facebook page in which he is believed to be the suspect that has now been captured. >> ayman, thank you. we are awaiting

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but certainly there is outreach going on. that will continue. i can also let you know the department of justice civil rights division is on the ground in charleston and our crs division is also on the ground in charleston and they work with all aspects of the community when there's been an event like this. >> do you have an update on the investigation on the hack by the chinese -- >> at this point, that still is a matter also under active investigation. i'm not able to provide any specifics about that. i'm sorry. >> director comey, may i ask you about a different concern these days. and that's this increasing number of arrests we're seeing in isis cases. it does appear that a lot of these cases are isis-inspired --

>> attorney general loretta lynch confirming the news we reported a new minutes ago. a suspect in custody in the massacre at the emanuel ame church in charleston. let me bring in msnbc's dave wagner. he's in charleston for us right now with the very latest. dave we know that authorities will update us here but at least at this hour we've been able to obtain the information that this suspect was caught in shelby, north carolina. that's nearly a four-hour drive away from the scene. what else are you hearing about when he was apprehended? >> reporter: we're not getting that -- i apologize for the voice because i'm losing it hear. but we are not getting the information here right now. police have been very selective about the information they've released. all along, 14 hours after this crime happened they finally tracked him down. shelby is in the charlotte, north carolina, area. it's kind of a suburban rural community near charlotte.

and obviously they were able to track him we know last night when they said they were searching for a 21-year-old man. that was a clear indication to me that they had a specific suspect in mind last night. specifically said, he's 21 years old. to me it was like i knew at that point they probably had their suspect in mind. it was just a matter of tracking him down. this is relief for people in this community. at the same time i will tell you, tamron that many of the family members of the victims, people who believe family members or victims have not been notified and they're concerned about that because their family members did not come home from church last night, they assumed that they were victims of the shooting. police and the coroner's office has not told them yet. they have not told them yet. that's very difficult, heartbreaking as they wait and worry. >> absolutely. that's a great point to make at this hour.

obviously the focus immediately on finding this suspect and treating those who were wounded but you do have those who are confirmed dead and their relatives waiting in the midst of all of the chaos that's been happening since 9:00 p.m. in getting the proper identification and those who need to know giving them the information as well. so what is the staging area like? is there a place for these family members who are waiting? what's the communication like with them? >> reporter: well they have reached out to the police department. they've reached out to the coroner's office and have yet to get information. one family member i talked to said he understands. he believes his sister may have been killed last night. he understands the investigation has to take place. he's trying to be patient but he is waiting and worrying tamron. >> just before we let you go dave. if you can i know you've been near the scene, describe to us

what the area is like now. have police shut off the streets around? what's the investigation site like at this hour? >> reporter: it is sealed off still, surrounded by police tape cordoned off for a couple of blocks in the area. >> dave, thank you so much. we are waiting for this news conference to start where we will hopefully get more information on how the suspect was captured where he was captured and what more information authorities have uncovered about his background. up next i'll talk with a state lawmaker who was just blocks away from the church when the shooting started, what he is saying -- actually the news conference is starting right now. let's go to it. >> i'm certainly proud of all the men and women from the different law enforcement agencies as well as the community that have been partnering with us since last night when this horrific tragic event happened in the city of charleston, one that we will

never forget and one that we will continue to pray for the families of the victims. we'll continue to pray for our entire community. with that i am very very pleased to announce that we have made an arrest in this case. we've arrested dylann roof, r-o-o-f. approximately 30 minutes ago he was arrested in shelby, north carolina, during a traffic stop. at this time we have not only fbi agents there. but we also have s.l.e.d. and city of charleston detectives preparing to fly to shelby north carolina to begin the interview process as well as evidence recovery. this case could not have been cleared as quickly as it has been if it had not been for the cooperation, the unparalleled cooperation of all the different agencies that were involved in this investigation.

i cannot say how thankful i am and how appreciative i am of all the people who came together during a very tragic situation, a horrific situation and one that has touched the heart and soul of every person who lives in this community. they have come together and some of them have worked tirelessly, running down leads. some of them have been working with their agencies in various states. the cooperation that we've received from the federal government with all the resources as well as the state government has been unparalleled unparalleled. i want to make sure i publicly thank all my colleagues for the resources they brought and also the men and women of the charleston police department as well as the charleston county sheriff's department who played vital roles in this particular investigation investigation. there's a lot to do in this case. we've got a lot more investigation to do to find out

why this happened. we've got a lot to do in terms of preparing this case for prosecution. but i can tell you that the solicitor's officer as well as the united states attorney's office has been in constant contact with us all day, throughout the night. and they are prepared to partner with us moving forward andin the prosecution stage. so i want to thank you for your vigilance being here. i know we've had you hear several times. and you've helped us get information out. again, it's a partnership. and working with you, working with law enforcement, working with the community, i want to thank these gentlemen on my right for their cooperation and their assistance during this investigation. right from the very beginning, i know that the elder came out and said that we're together we're galvanized, we are working together. that's what this has been throughout the night.

i'm so pleased that we were able to resolve this case quickly, not only for the families but for our community, for our state, so that nobody else is harmed by this individual who obviously committed a tragic heinous crime last night in the city of charleston. mayor? . >> first of all, i want to publicly commend chief mullin and the men and women of our police department. we invest substantially in the resources and the quality of the men and women who work for our police department and under chief mullin there is not a better led police department in our country. as chief mullin said, we've had

extraordinary cooperation from other law enforcement professionals and when you have a chance to work on a difficult matter and see the skills and the commitment of people who have dedicated their lives to law enforcement, it is so inspirational. and because of all of that work this very important news today is announced that that awful person, that terrible human being who would go into a place of worship and people were praying and kill them is now in custody where he will always remain. it's important for everyone wounded by this act which are the church family members, the

community members and the people of america, for in this great country, we hold sacred the places where people come and practice their faith in safety and in peace. so the arrest of this awful man is an important part for all of us in this community and in our country to begin the necessary process of our healing together. governor haley is here. and i want to thank her for coming down to charleston. i want to thank all the law enforcement agencies and the fbi and the atf, the county has been

extraordinary. thank you, governor haley, for your presence and interest and support. i also want to announce that i received a personal call from vice president biden. he knew senator and reverend pinkckney was and familiar with the emanuel ame church and morris brown and he himself, we all know has had a tragically sad time. and he expressed heartfelt grief and offer of support. i received a call from president obama personally that conveyed his sympathy and for the citizens of america to let us know that they were with us and his offer to make any federal resources available. i told the president that the fbi and the atf and the federal

resources and the justice department have been extraordinary. a part of this healing process, we all need to help. so we have created the mother emanuel hope fund started with a $5,000 contribution from the city of charleston and the mother emanuel hope fund will be a vehicle for citizens in our community and around the country that want to do something to help, to contribute to that fund. obviously the wounds of the church and all those who were killed and all the expenses, the funerals, the loss and families and so much more -- what we have the opportunity to help them. and when we help them we also help their hearts because we all know when we're grieving that that hug or that sign of love or support is a very important part

of renourishing our soul and all the souls who were injured. people can drop checks off at wells fargo. box 304, charleston 29402. we'll get this out. so we have a way that we all can help. right away. that not 24 hours even after this dastardly event that the citizens in our community and our country can help and positively respond. and then tomorrow evening, and we'll announce the time there will be a community prayer vigil at the college of charleston arena, which is not but a block and a half from mother emanuel. so we'll have a chance to come together in prayer. and to mourn the losses and to come together as a community. the time of that event tomorrow

evening will be announced soon and wheat be getting that out in to the media. and i thank everyone who is here. as chief mullen said, the immediatyemedia, were are able to get this horrible person in shelby north carolina because we got the word out. a wonderful sign that in america, you know we don't let bad people like this get away with these dastardly needs lyly deeds. thank you. governor? >> thank you, mr. mayor. i want to certainly thank the mayor. he's always had great leadership but during times of struggle he steps up even more continues to make charleston proud. i continue to appreciate your friendship and your partnership. i want to personally thank bishop norris with the ame church family. i spoke with him this morning and even though he is in recovery he very much is in prayer and in leadership and the fact that he has asked that we

all come together for prayer vigil today at noon. you will see all of us go to do that. but we woke up today. and the heart and soul of south carolina was broken. and so we have some grieving to do and we've got some pain we have to go through. parents are having to explain to their kids how they can go to church and feel safe and that's not something we thought we would ever deal with. having said that we are a strong and faithful state. we love our state. we love our country. most importantly, we love each other. and i will tell you there's a lot of prayer in this state. so you are going to see all of us trying to lift these fine families up in prayer because they need us. these nine families need us. the emanuel ame church needs us.

the ame church family needs us. and the people of south carolina need us to come to the and be strong for what has happened. i want you to know the outpouring of emotion from across this country has been overwhelming, from presidential candidates to citizens who have just traveled through the state, to any person in any walk of life. every single person has had to put their feet in the shoes of one of those nine families today. and they all know what that felt like. and so with that where do we go from here? we allow ourselves to grieve. we allow ourselves to pray. we allow ourselves to question why this happens, and then we allow ourselves to heal. and so the healing process will start. we are so thankful to chief mullen and his team and law enforcement with s.l.e.d. with fbi, with everybody that came

together that refused to allow this to happen. i have never seen -- when we were going through the command center -- such passion and personal willingness to want to make sure they brought this person home. and so i want to personally thank the law enforcement community because you have now allowed us to start healing. and we can now tell our children that that person is in custody and we can now not only lift up our law enforcement community who hasn't slept since this happened but thank them and give them the credit that they deserve and the courage they deserve, but i want to remind everybody, south carolina has stepped up today in a way that continues to make me proud. we are seeing love, we're seeing prayers, we're seeing support, we're seeing humility. and for that i want to tell you that i'm thankful. we will continue to be on stand by for all of the people all of the leaders that you see here behind us are willing to do anything and everything for the families in need and for the church in need. but for that i will tell you it

is a very very sad day in south carolina. but it is a day that we will get through. it is a day we will remember. and it is a day that will allow us to get stronger. thank you. >> okay. we'll take a few questions starting from the right. >> you said this suspect was at a traffic stop. was the traffic stop issued because of license or stopped him for other reasons? >> he was stopped because a citizen alerted law enforcement to a suspicious activity and law enforcement went out and they knew that once they arrived there that it was the individual that we were looking for. >> north carolina highway patrol? >> right here. >> what's the cooperative on the arrest? >> he was cooperative. >> did he confess -- >> excuse me? >> we're not going to talk about that right now. thank you. >> say anything when he was arrested? >> we're not going to talk about that right now, either. >> travelled from sharl lot and stopped at an atm? >> we're not going to talk about any aspects of the investigation

that are still ongoing. there are still a lot of things happening and we want to make sure we follow all of the processes. we just can't talk about these details right now. >> what was his demeaner? >> he was cooperative with the officer who stopped him. >> do you believe that he acted alone? >> i do, yes. we don't have any reason to believe there was anybody else involved. >> what was the suspicious activity? >> the citizen just saw a vehicle that they felt like was suspicious and they did exactly what we ask citizens to do. they called the police. we went out and checked it out. as a result of that we were able to make this apprehension. yes, ma'am? >> do you have any indication how someone goes from two minor arrests to what is allegedly one of the worst mass killings in this state? >> well, that will be part of what we do in our investigators get there and begin their interviews with him. we'll try to figure that out. right now we do not have answers to that. yes, sir?

>> right now he's in shelby, north carolina. there will be a process we have to go through to get him back here. we will be working that diligently with not only s.l.e.d. but the fbi along with our detectives. >> in the vehicle? >> he was in the vehicle. he was approached by law enforcement. paul? >> which agency arrested him? >> shelby, nrt carolina police department. >> any ties to shelby north carolina? >> not that i'm aware of at this point. >> 250 miles from here. do you know how he got so far -- >> well, he drove. i mean it's not that far. he could drive. there was a number of hours between what happened here and -- >> police for that long? >> i don't know the answer to that question. i mean we were obviously -- >> interstate highway going up is not through cities. >> can you give us any information about how the -- night into day, people

commenting what kind of things happened over the course of the day? >> sure, i'll give you a brief overview of that because there was a lot of moving parts. basically the initial response was tremendous from all of our partners. we had people from various agencies that were here almost immediately. as i was driving to the scene from my home i was talking to chief keel and the fbi in terms of their willingness to get involved. by the time we all converged on the scene we immediately started to partner. there was resources that were brought to bear. we were able to get up the 1-800 number very quickly. once we got the surveillance photos out and then we got the 1-800 number up we started to receive tips. and that was what led us to the ability to identify the individual and make this arrest. yes, sir? >> i don't know the exact time. it was probably about 35 minutes ago. i'm not sure exactly what time it was. but i can get you that information.

>> has he made any admission? >> we're not going to talk about that today. one more. >> was this the first tip you guys had of his location, this caller calling in? >> we had a number of tips coming in and everybody was following those tips. every lead that came in i mean it was amazing the fact that we had teams that were standing by. they were almost -- they were wired to go. whenever we got a lead in we sent out teams of s.l.e.d. agents, fbi agents to run those down. we had agents in other parts of the country. we had agents on their way here from other parts of the country to aid us. so it was a tremendous effort and really with the team that we had working with us and the team that we had in the community, it was a -- it was a tremendous push forward to make this a successful case. and now what we have to do is continue on to make it a successful prosecution. thank you very much. that's all we're going to do right now. thank you.

>> i'm andrea mitchell in washington. and breaking news. the suspect in the church massacre in charleston 21-year-old dylann storm roof has been caught. >> we woke up today and the heart and soul of south carolina was broken. >> nine people gunned down in a sacred place, including the pastor. the reverend clement a pinckney prominent state senator and beloved community leader, talking about his church here two years ago. >> many of us don't see ourselves as just a place where we come and worship. but as a beacon and as a bearer of the culture and a bearer of what makes us a people. >> incredibly the gunman sat with the